Stoke Bliss, Herefordshire & Worcestershire Family History Guide

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Stoke Bliss is a parish formerly in Herefordshire, but transferred to Worcestershire for civil purposes, under the provisions of Section 54 of the Local Government (England and Wales) Act, 1888 (51 and 52 Vict. C. 41), by Order of the Local Government Board, May 8, 1897, confirmed by Provisional Orders Confirmation (No. 10) Act, 18971

Stoke Bliss parish includes: Little Kyre or Kyre Minor or Kyre Parva.

Parish registers begin:

  • Parish registers: 1571
  • Bishop’s Transcripts: 1660

Nonconformists include:

Adjacent Parishes

Stoke Bliss Parish Registers

Search online registers of baptisms, marriages, banns and burials including digitised images of original records and registers and indexed transcriptions.

Baptism, Marriage and Burial Records

These records include images of Church of England parish registers of baptism, marriage, and burial records.

Stoke Bliss, Worcestershire Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812

Stoke Bliss, Worcestershire Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1812-1922

Stoke Bliss, Herefordshire Baptisms 1571-1874

Marriage and Banns Records

These records include images of Church of England parish registers of marriages and banns records.

Stoke Bliss, Worcestershire Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1947

Stoke Bliss, Herefordshire Marriages 1571-1885

Stoke Bliss, St Peter, Herefordshire Marriages 1660-1837

Death and Burial Records

These records include images of Church of England parish registers of deaths and burial records.

Stoke Bliss, Worcestershire Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1997

Stoke Bliss, Herefordshire Burials 1813-1839

Stoke Bliss Parish Records

School Records

The National School Admission Registers & Log-Books 1870–1914 collection offers a rare glimpse into the educational journeys of children across England and Wales during a transformative era. These records often capture names, dates of birth, parental occupations, and school attendance patterns – making them invaluable for family historians, local researchers, and anyone tracing Victorian or Edwardian ancestry. You can view them free with a Findmypast Trial.

Stoke Bliss & Kyre Church Of England School 1903-1914 Admissions

Historical Directories

Kyre Parva Billings Directory of Worcestershire 1855

Kyre Parva, or Little Kyre, situate in the county of Worcestershire, and distant about 5 miles S. from Tenbury, is a small hamlet of the parish of Stoke Bliss, in the county of Hereford, consisting principally of farm houses. The parish church is at Stoke Bliss. It contained in 1851 a population of 151 inhabitants.

DIRECTORY

Benbow William, wheelwright and carpenter

Bolton Martin, farmer, Little Bannalls

Bruton William, mason

Dorrell Thomas, farmer, The Hall

Hall Joseph, farmer, The Collins

Hyde Mary, farmer, The Grove

Hyde William, farmer, The Grove

Lynas Lawrence, victualler, Cross Keys

Pound Edwin, farmer, The Bannalls

Swann Ephraim, farmer, Hursley

Source: Billings Directory of Worcestershire 1855

Kyre Magna and Kyre Parva Lewis Worcestershire Directory 1820

KYRE MAGNA.

Goode Thomas, farmer

Hill Richard, farmer

Jones Abraham, smith

Patrick Samuel, farmer

Pytts Mrs., gent.

Taylor John, farmer

KYRE PARVA.

Benbow H., farmer

Benbow J., shopkeeper

Bevan James, farmer

Bowkett John, farmer

Brazier Thomas, farmer

Griffin John, farmer

Hill Thomas, farmer

Hyde Henry, farmer

Hyde Mary, farmer

Jordon John, farmer

Spilsbury Francis, farmer

Stinton John, farmer

There is a description for Kyre in the Directory as follows: – Kyre Wyre, 3 ½ miles from Tenbury, containing 30 houses, and 165 inhabitants. The hamlet of Kyre Minor adjoins this parish, and is noted for the quantity of Wild Saffron growing therein.

Source: S Lewis Worcestershire General and Commercial Directory for 1820.

Parish History

Stoke Bliss

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1851

Stoke-Bliss, a parish, partly in the hund. of Broxash, and partly in the Upper division of the hund. of Doddingtree, union of Tenbury, counties of Hereford and Worcester; 5½ miles north-north by west of Bromyard. The parish includes the hamlet of Little Kyre. Living, a rectory in the archd. and dio. of Hereford; rated at £6 16s. 8d.; gross income £383. Tithes commuted in 1839; aggregate amount £357 14s. 8d. Patron, the Lord-chancellor. Here is a day and Sunday school. In 1835 hops were cultivated in this parish to the extent of 110 acres. Acres 2,410. Houses 70. A.P. £704. Pop., in 1801, 187; in 1831, 175. Poor rates, in 1838, £38 8s.

Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1851.

A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848

STOKE-BLISS, a parish, in the union of Tenbury, partly in the Upper division of the hundred of Doddingtree, Worcester and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, but chiefly in the hundred of Broxash, county of Hereford, 6 miles (S. E.) from Tenbury; containing, with the chapelry of Little Kyre, 351 inhabitants, of whom 207 are in Stoke-Bliss township. The parish is situated on the road from Tenbury to Bromyard, and comprises by admeasurement 2077 acres, of which 1071 form the Herefordshire portion. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £6. 16. 8., and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £360; there is a glebe-house, and the glebe contains 35 acres. The church is in the early English style.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848

Little Kyre

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1848

Kyre (Little), a chapelry in the parish of Stoke-Bliss, county of Worcester; 4 miles south-east of Tenbury. Living, a curacy annexed to the rectory of Stoke-Bliss. Acres 1,130. Houses 34. A. P. £765. Pop., in 1801, 126; in 183S, 169. Poor rates, in 1838, £58 17s.

Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1848

Worcestershire Delineated C. and J. Greenwood 1822

Kyre-Minor – a hamlet and chapelry to the parish of Stoke Bliss, half a mile from the above Kyre-Wyard; containing 25 inhabited houses. Population, 1801, 126 – 1811, 120 – 1821, 121.

Source: Worcestershire Delineated: Being a Topographical Description of Each Parish, Chapelry, Hamlet, &c. In the County; with the distances and bearings from their respective market towns, &c. By C. and J. Greenwood. Printed by T. Bensley, Crane Court, Fleet Street, London, 1822.

Historical Maps

British National Grid Ref: SO 65136 62852
BNG Eastings, Northings: 365136, 262852
Latitude, Longitude: 52.262717, -2.512252

View detailed 19th-century Ordnance Survey maps from the National Library of Scotland Maps – includes OS 25 inch 1892-1918 maps, a vast range of other historical OS maps and land use maps. These maps reveal old street layouts, parish boundaries, and landmarks long since vanished.

Administration

  • County: Herefordshire and Worcestershire
  • Civil Registration District: Tenbury
  • Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Hereford (Episcopal Consistory)
  • Diocese: Hereford
  • Rural Deanery: Frome
  • Poor Law Union: Tenbury
  • Hundred:
    • Worcestershire: Doddingtree
    • Herefordshire: Broxash
  • Province: Canterbury
  1. Kelly’s Directory of Herefordshire & Shropshire 1941, published by Kelly’s Directories Ltd 1941. Reproduced with the kind permission of the publishers Kelly’s Directories Ltd and Reed Business Information ↩︎